In "’Tis the Season for Texas Red Grapefruit," Gravy reporter Evan Stern travels to South Texas’s Rio Grande Valley. There, he traces the story of how a chance mutation on a single tree near the Mexican border transformed American grapefruit, and the efforts currently underway to keep this legacy alive. Every December, cartons of Texas red grapefruit make their way to grocery stores and doorsteps around our nation. Big enough to fill both hands, with a warm orange skin touched with a rosy blush, some might get tucked under Christmas trees or shared as tokens of appreciation. Cut into one, and it’s easy to understand why. The flesh is a deep, garnet red that’s pleasantly sweet with just enough tang and bitterness to tickle the palate. But the journey from citrus groves to kitchen tables is long, with years of history behind it, and as growers confront a host of challenges, questions about the future of Texas’s state fruit are swirling. TJ Flowers gives voice to the realities and challenges growers face in a shifting industry. As cofounder of Texas’s last family-owned commercial citrus packer, his business has survived droughts, freezes, and hurricanes. At the same time, while he candidly describes his position as “a lonely spot,” he remains committed to investing in his groves even as he’s watched neighboring farms paved for development and fellow packers leave the business. With help from Valley native and plant pathologist David Laughlin, Gravy traces the history of grapefruit in the Americas. We learn how Texas’s red mutations didn’t just take grapefruit mainstream, but ignited the Valley’s economy in the process. At Weslaco’s Texas A&M Citrus Center, Drs. Mamadou Setamou and Olufemi Alabi prove this journey is far from over. Together, they share how they are innovating techniques to fortify this crop against pests, disease, and water scarcity, with their new methods now spreading from the Valley to Spain, Morocco, and beyond. Their work honors a prized fruit that is still evolving as it fights to survive. Meanwhile, a Texas red grapefruit remains one of the sweetest gifts a Texan can give.
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